McCain snags endorsements; Rudy retreats

Sen. Joseph Lieberman (Conn.), who was on the national Democratic ticket in 2000, will cross the aisle to endorse Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) Monday, Republican sources said.

The two will appear together on Fox News on Monday, then at an 8 a.m. town hall meeting in Hillsborough, N.H. They will talk with reporters after the meeting. McCain is also scheduled to appear on NBC's "Today" program.

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The move, which will help cultivate McCain's moderate status, is an effort to draw attention to the McCain campaign, which needs a splash. Otherwise, it does not make sense for McCain because it will only remind core Republicans why they distrust him.

The endorsement came as one of McCain’s rivals for independent voters — Rudy Giuliani — began to pull back in New Hampshire and refocus his energy and resources in Florida and other states with later contests.

Noting Liberman’s appeal among unaffiliated voters in the 2004 Democratic primary, a top McCain aide said the Connecticut senator's backing "gives credence to, and more horsepower behind, our 'Independents for McCain' effort in New Hampshire and nationally."

Independents are an important factor in New Hampshire, and McCain, who won the state in 2000, is now depending on them.

The announcement looks like an effort to stem a stream of independents moving to Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.)

For McCain, the good news is coming in threes. The announcement follows endorsements of McCain on Sunday by the Des Moines Register and the Boston Globe. William Kristol of the The Weekly Standard was the first to post the news, which rocketed through campaign circles Sunday afternoon.

Lieberman is an independent who caucuses with Democrats.

While Lieberman and the liberal-leaning Boston Globe’s endorsement may help boost McCain among independents who can vote in the New Hampshire GOP primary, he is counting on the more critical support of the conservative Union Leader to help him among the Republican base in the Granite State.

He’s currently airing an ad there that touts the support from the Manchester-based daily.

McCain is also being helped in the state by Giuliani’s reduced hopes for a victory there. Despite airing TV ads in New Hampshire for over a month and stepping up his appearances there, the former New York mayor’s poll numbers have been static or even slipped some.

Saturday, Giuliani made a symbolic statement that he and his campaign think their path to victory lies not in the early January snows of New Hampshire but in sunny Florida, which holds its primary in late January.